187
Cylinder seals provide important
pictorial evidence of life and lore in
Mesopotamia. This example from
ca. 2250 bce depicts the god Enki with
life-giving water flowing from his body.Returning to earth, Inanna was
accompanied by a band of demons
anxious to seize someone to take
her place. Inanna met members
of her family and faithful servants,
including Ninshubur, and did not
want to let any of them go. Instead,
she told the demons to follow her to
a great apple tree on a plain.Humanity and mortality
Under the apple tree sat Inanna’s
husband, Dumuzid—a mortal king
who had been deified and had
become the god of fertility and
shepherding. Dumuzid was
“clothed in a magnificent garment
and seated magnificently on a
throne.” Furious that her husband
had not mourned her, Inannahanded him over to the demons.
Dumuzid prayed to the sun god,
his brother-in-law Utu, to turn him
into a snake, but in spite of this
transformation he was captured
and taken to the Underworld.
Inanna, however, missed her
husband. His sister Geshtinanna
agreed to take his place for half the
year, so that Dumuzid could return
to Inanna in spring and the land
would become fertile again. When
the crops had been gathered,
Dumuzid returned to spend the
barren winter in the Underworld,
thus giving the world its seasons.Humanity and mortality
The story of Inanna not only
explained the seasonal cycle, but
also gave an insight into what it
meant to be human and how life
was ordered. On Earth, humans
were the children of the gods;
when they died, they became
the children of Ereshkigal. This
determined how they lived their
lives. They believed it was good to
be clothed, to have good food, and
to be surrounded by loved ones. ■ASIA
Priests of Inanna
Often identified as being
neither male nor female,
the role of the priests and
priestesses of Inanna was to
promote the fertility of the
land. If they did not have
sexual intercourse, it was
thought that the land would
no longer produce. They
served at her temple in Uruk,
the principal center of worship,
and at numerous other shrines
and temples to the goddess
throughout Mesopotamia.
As the goddess of fertility,
Inanna was sometimes
depicted as both male and
female, and was said to have
the ability to transform men
into women and women into
men. People who did not
conform to Mesopotamian
gender norms were often
made into priests of Inanna.
Such gender ambiguity also
made Inanna an accessible
deity, as both men and women
could identify with her.
In one ritual known as
“sacred marriage,” to ensure
prosperity, a king would take
the role of Dumuzid in an
elaborate ceremony. This
would include having
intercourse with the high
priestess of Inanna, herself
impersonating the goddess.She does not return. She
who goes to the Dark City
stays there.
Inanna: Queen of
Heaven and EarthUS_182-187_Inanna.indd 187 05/12/17 4:16 pm